Nishat Group has agreed to explore investing in a new port that Pakistan plans to build, after the conglomerate's chairman, Mian Muhammad Mansha, met Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry in Karachi.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs said on Friday that Mansha had shown interest in the project and agreed to study investment options in the port, which officials linked to the needs of Pakistan's export-oriented industries. The statement gave no figure for the investment, no site for the port and no timeline for a decision.

Chaudhry used the meeting to press for wider private-sector participation in port development, including investment and new technology. He described new port capacity as strategically important for Pakistan's maritime economy and trade connectivity, and said the government would support domestic and foreign investors who want to enter the sector.

Government seeks private capital for ports

The minister said the development of another port would open new avenues for economic growth, create jobs and strengthen Pakistan's position as a regional trade and logistics hub. The ministry has been seeking private capital for port projects as part of a wider effort to expand maritime infrastructure without relying only on public funds.

Work on identifying sites for new ports began in December last year, when a 12-member committee drawn from the Port Qasim Authority, Karachi Port Trust, Gwadar Port Authority, the Special Investment Facilitation Council and other agencies started looking for locations for three to four deep-sea ports.

The push for more ports comes even though the country's existing three ports do not run at full stretch. When the committee was formed, the minister put Port Qasim at about 65 per cent of capacity, Karachi Port at 52 per cent and Gwadar at between 5 and 10 per cent. Chaudhry has argued that Pakistan must put alternatives in place before its ports reach full capacity, and his ministry's long-term plan foresees the ports operating at 100 per cent capacity by 2047.

Feasibility studies and energy plans

In April, Chaudhry said feasibility studies for the new ports had reached their final stages. He also announced a Pakistan Maritime Energy City to store oil, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas for domestic use and re-export, as part of the same maritime development programme.

For now, Nishat's commitment goes no further than an agreement to explore the opportunity. No agreement on funding, construction or operation has been announced, and the ministry has not said where the proposed port would be built.

Who is behind Nishat Group

Mansha's group runs Nishat Mills and D.G. Khan Cement, along with other companies across textiles, cement, banking, insurance and power. Its textile and cement arms sell abroad, which the ministry linked to the case for new port capacity to serve exporters.

The meeting is the latest sign of the government's effort to bring large domestic business houses into infrastructure projects. Whether the interest turns into a firm investment will depend on the feasibility work and on the terms the government offers private investors, neither of which has yet been made public.

Sources: Focus Pakistan and The Standard, both reporting the Ministry of Maritime Affairs statement.